Lord: Starting from the Pit-Dwelling Courtyard

Chapter 143 Change

He had been kneeling here for more than two hours, and his legs were already numb. But he dared not get up because two female knight apprentices were watching him intently from not far away. If he made the slightest move, he would be sure to get a beating with a whip.

Devon was filled with regret and resentment. If his collarbone hadn't been locked, he would have torn those two women apart.

The iron clamp pierced the soft tissue below his shoulder blade, blocking the flow of his life force. He can't even use the strength of a knight apprentice now.

The footsteps grew louder as they approached, and Devon knew that the person in question had arrived.

Ron sat in the main seat, and as Leonardo da Vinci passed by Devon, he picked him up with one hand and tossed him to a spot in front of Ron.

"Devin de Gea?"

The fall hit the pipa lock, and Devon almost cried out in pain.

"I am the eldest son of the De Gea family, and I demand to be treated as a noble prisoner of war—"

Before Devon could finish speaking, he was met with a vicious slap from Leonardo da Vinci. The force of the slap was no less than that of the previous one, and it even knocked out several of his teeth.

Ron had a headache and rubbed his temples. How could these nobles be so mentally unstable? Didn't they even look at their surroundings?

Why did you betray De Gea?

Devon immediately scrambled to his feet, roaring, "I didn't betray you! That old man abandoned me! In the past, the territory always relied on goblins to conquer new settlers. The goblins took the food and women, leaving the rest of the resources to the territory. This system has been running for years, and I've always been in charge of it—"

Ron narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing this and asked, "Does Novia know?"

"I know!" Devon's anger intensified when he mentioned Novia: "That guy naturally knows, but he usually turns a blind eye. This time, the attack on your territory failed, and I was exposed. Novia used this as an excuse to imprison me, hoping to take advantage of the situation to seize the territory. I guess that old man is dead by now."

Ron rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

Novia is a troublesome fellow too.

Just then, old Hall walked in.

"My lord, Novia from the territory of De Gea has arrived."

Upon hearing that Novia had arrived, Devon's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Lord Ron, please kill me, but don't let Novia know I'm here, I beg you—"

"Novia—he's not human!" Devon's voice was low. "He treats people worse than goblins."

Ron looked at Devon in surprise, wondering what Novia had done to terrify him so much.

"Take him down first; he might still be of some use."

Leonardo da Vinci immediately bowed his head in agreement, and then dragged Devon away.

Soon, a maid came and mopped the floor clean again.

Most of the castle's floors were tiled, since they were all made using conversion magic and were simply laid out when the flooring was being installed.

Therefore, everyone who enters the castle is amazed by the tiles in front of them.

Novia greeted Ron with a smile upon seeing him: "Lord Ron, your floor is truly beautiful."

Ron smiled and extended his hand, inviting Novia to sit down and have some water.

Novia paused suddenly as she walked to the spot where Devon had been kneeling. Although it was only for a moment, Ron noticed it.

Novia sat down unhurriedly, picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said, "The major cleanup is over, but the walls of the territory are severely damaged. Not only the walls, but the castle is also badly damaged. I've come this time to purchase a large quantity of red bricks from your territory."

Ron didn't care about this, and it was expected.

After this battle, capable territories will inevitably build city walls, for only city walls can withstand the goblin attack.

After all, goblins' siege equipment is very outdated. Battering rams are probably their most advanced siege equipment. They are fine for dealing with city gates, but they are not very effective for smashing city walls.

Most of the territories were fortified with wooden walls, so for battering rams, it didn't matter where they attacked, which is why the pioneering territories were difficult to defend against goblin attacks.

Unless a large quantity of oil is prepared and ignited when the battering ram reaches the city walls.

So Ron expanded the production of the brick workshop early on, and now it can produce more than 20,000 red bricks a day, which is 600,000 a month. This output makes Old Hall a little apprehensive.

Fortunately, the energy source is solar energy, and there is plenty of sand in the entire wasteland. Otherwise, looking at the mountains of red bricks, he would definitely have a headache and be unable to sleep.

Ron generously replied, "At the original price, I can give you as much as you want."

Novia understood immediately upon hearing this.

"After the great cleanup, the territory is in dire need of development in all sectors —"

Ron immediately understood Novia's plan and waved his hand, "Don't even think about bargaining. I can't afford this price. We can exchange it for other supplies, or I can accept gold coins."

Novia shook her head with a wry smile: "I really can't afford it."

"If you can't afford it, then don't take it. I'll take all the red bricks your territory has."

Harland's voice rang out from outside the hall, with Kylian beside him trying to stop him.

Upon seeing Haaland, Novia's eyes turned cold, then she smiled: "Haaland, what kind of business is this?"

Harland shrugged and said, "That's how business is. It's a willing buyer and a willing seller. If you're not willing to buy, I'm happy to buy. This battle made me realize the importance of the city walls, and I'm preparing to buy a large number of bricks to build them back."

Ron quietly gave Harland a thumbs up.

Haaland nodded matter-of-factly, while winking at him, indicating that he would be given a discount later.

Ron completely ignored that look.

Novia naturally saw through their little scheme, but circumstances forced him to act against them. In fact, after returning to his territory with the first batch of red bricks, he tried to make bricks himself.

After several attempts, he gave up, partly due to the problem of the brick recipe ratio, and partly because the wood for firing bricks was extremely scarce.

After all, timber is very scarce in the wasteland. Various territories have planted large-scale shrub vegetation, but this stuff doesn't burn well. After several times, the territory's timber reserves ran into problems, which forced him to give up.

Novia asked, "I can provide more volcanic ash. I wonder if Lord Ron would be willing to do so?"

Ron shook his head after hearing this: "Not enough!"

Then, Ron said something that shocked Novia and Harland.

Ron said, "Your territory's excrement, whether from livestock or people, can be traded. Five pounds of manure can be exchanged for a brick, with delivery to your door!"

Harland looked bewildered and asked, "Ron, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."

Novia's hand, holding the water glass, froze in mid-air, as if stopped by Ron's words.

"Feces?" He repeated the word to make sure he hadn't misheard.

"Lord Ron, I didn't understand what you just said either."